Stub O' The Day

[bernardo]

A Sheaffer plain Sterling silver Legacy with a Ft Madison stub:

 

 

 

The only difference is who made the nib and where it was made. My experience with stub nibs that came out of the FT Madison plant has been that they have all been smooth with great line variation and feel like a pen you have used all your life from the moment you first touch it to paper.

 

The thing is that modern Sheaffers are no longer manufactured at the original Sheaffer factory in Fort Madison, but elsewhere, and their nibs are generic nibs bought from a third party. As long as I know, the present BIC owned Sheaffer company could not find another manufacturer for the inlaid nibs in the whole world, so they had to keep their production at Fort Madison for some time, but the rest of the pen was produced elsewhere (China, I guess). I really don't know if this is still the case.

[raging.dragon]

The thing is that modern Sheaffers are no longer manufactured at the original Sheaffer factory in Fort Madison, but elsewhere, and their nibs are generic nibs bought from a third party. As long as I know, the present BIC owned Sheaffer company could not find another manufacturer for the inlaid nibs in the whole world, so they had to keep their production at Fort Madison for some time, but the rest of the pen was produced elsewhere (China, I guess). I really don't know if this is still the case.

 

From what I've heard the Legacy Heritage pens are made in the Czech Republic and the inlaid nibs are now being made by Bock. Other Sheaffers are made elsewhere and may get their nibs from other sources.

[dcpritch]

Pelikan 100N

 

Like many fountain pen folks, I have far more pens than I need or that I can reasonably use, and I love finding ones I haven't tried and learning about the different qualities of each. Every once in a while I find a pen that fits into a special category: pens I would never willingly let go. The Pelikan 100N shown below is one of these.

 

I've had this pen for quite some time and it patiently waits its turn in the rotation, only when I fill the 100N with ink and write with it after a long separation I invariably remark how silly I've been to keep this pen uninked. The BB nib writes absolutely marvelously, with a perfect blend of smoothness and feedback - it sometimes offers a little squeak, and with line variation derived from both nib shape and flexibility. The pen is light and relatively small, but fat so it is easy to grasp. I don't ever post caps, but this one would be perfect for that as the cap is quite light and wouldn't throw off the pen's balance.

 

The 100N fits easily in most any pocket and always looks stylish without being flashy; I've never had a raised eyebrow when using this pen in a client meeting. It holds a ton of ink, has an ink window so I can see when I need more. Of course Pelikan's piston system is legendary for its reliability and, if it ever does need service, for ease in repair. In short, this is darn near what I would consider a "must have" pen.

 

Here are a few photos, with writing samples using different inks:

 

[jar]

Some are old, some are new.

 

Some are wide, but the others suit too.

Edited February 12, 2013 by jar

[dcpritch]

Jar, those are great. I especially like the Sheaffers on each side of the photo, but all are fantastic pens.

 

http://www.fototime.com/E53C6F2D0482746/orig.jpg

[dcpritch]

Sailor Sapporo Mini, 14k Music nib

 

I had a Sapporo Mini a few years ago but it had an unmodified B nib and I just didn't care for the uninspired writing that came from it (my fault, not the pen's). Not long ago, this pen came up for sale on the FPN Classifieds and so I thought I'd give the Mini another go. The Mini is a little pen - 108 mm capped - but the barrel is threaded to receive the cap so that when posted the pen is a respectable 137 mm. Plus, the threads for posting the cap are set so that the clip ends up aligned with the nib, which is nice for writing.

 

Anyway, the main thing about this pen, and the reason it is being featured in this thread, is the nib. Its Rhodium plated 14k Music nib, marked "MS" on the side of the nib, puts down a very consistent line. The side stroke is wider than with any of my custom stub nibs, or even the factory stubs, but then the (original) purpose of a music nib is for making notes on a page, which calls for a slightly line that is a different shape than what a stub can do. Does that make sense?

 

Here are some photos of this pen. The color is what I would call Canary Yellow.

 

 

and the same shot with the cap posted:

 

 

By the way, Sailor Jentle Blue Black (used here in cartridge form), is a great ink: nice flow, quick drying, excellent shading, water resistant:

 

 

I was wondering about the size of the Sapporo Mini in relation to some other pocket pens, so here are a couple of photos which show the TWSBI Mini, Sapporo Mini, Kaweco Sport, and Stipula Passaporto lined up together (aligned at the base), one pic with caps on and the other with caps posted.

 

 

Interesting, huh?

 

Thanks for looking.

[Uncle Red]

DC, will the Sapporo take a converter?

[dcpritch]

I don't think so, the barrel is just too small. However, there is an o-ring on the section, where the barrel screws into the section, so I bet with the protection of the 0-ring plus a little silicone grease in the threads, the pen could be used as an ED filler. I'm not going to try it because I like to switch pens fairly often, plus with my luck I'd somehow end up with a mess, but someone who wanted the maximum amount of ink might be interested in doing that.

[Koyote]

Where did you buy that Sailor mini with the music nib?

[dcpritch]

Where did you buy that Sailor mini with the music nib?

 

Right here on FPN, about a month ago off the Classifieds, from a very nice FPNer in Georgia, USA.

[TULIP]

 

 

Cool pen. I love the old flexies.

 

I'll play. Nathan Tardiff custom.

[dcpritch]

 

Hey, its like a family photo! Is your Tardiff nib on a Tuckie?

[TULIP]

Hey, its like a family photo! Is your Tardiff nib on a Tuckie?

 

No, I'm a shirt pocket guy...sans pocket protector.

 

Edited February 13, 2013 by TULIP

[dcpritch]

TULIP, that's got to be the most intimidating pen photo I've seen!!!

 

 

 

I'm off on a Valentine's trip with my wife, somewhere warm - or at least, warmer than Northern Minnesota, which is about 94% of earth - so I won't be posting any photos for a week or so. Please feel free, anyone, to step in and take up the slack.

[1point1mm]

Namiki Vanishing Point

 

http://i987.photobucket.com/albums/ae360/chc_hmc/NamikiVP3BCI.jpg

[jacksterp]

1.1 - that Namiki nib is WILD looking.

 

How 'bout a writing sample?

[Uncle Red]

That nib would get me to buy a VP!

[1point1mm]

Excuse my penmanship, but here's a quick scribble scrabble:

 

http://i987.photobucket.com/albums/ae360/chc_hmc/NamikiVPO3BWritingSample_zps1543b0c7.jpg

[dcpritch]

Wow! I have never seen a nib shaped like that. And it writes great. Thanks so much for posting the photos!

[dcpritch]

I came back from the warmth of the Georgia Coast to frigid temps - 0 F when we landed yesterday in Minneapolis with a -25 F wind chill, and a raw temp of -15 F this morning. Talk about a cold slap in the face! At least its sunny.

 

Waterman's 12, 14k 4B nib

 

Here's a pen that makes me think of a line from the movie Young Frankenstein:

 

You've caught something there.

Crude

,

yes

;

primitive, yes

;

perhaps even grotesque

, ...

... yet something inexplicable tells me ...

... that this might be our man.

I don't really know what to say about this pen, except to show you pictures. I keep thinking this nib can't be real, but it actually has iridium on the tip - could it actually be a stock tip? I kind of doubt it. Regardless, it writes wet, and when I say wet, think ... Niagara Falls in the Spring. Great line variation. The sturdy old Waterman's ED system never leaks and holds a ton of ink. This pen is not pristine, but then I'm not really into having pens I don't use, and the bumps and marks it has picked up along the way remind me of myself, much more of a daily user model than NOS.

 

By the way, I've really been liking vintage inks of late, and Carter's Permanent Blue-Black is no exception. Not much blue left if the bottle I took this from, but it consistently provides great shading, is actually permanent, darkens after going on to a very nice shade.